Parvati Magazine May 2014 - Feeling Alive - Page 31

BUSINESS
entrepreneurs say they
feel the most exhilarated
when they are riding the
wave of business.
Some people say that
entrepreneurs are thrillseekers or risk warriors.
As an entrepreneurial
coach who has worked
with many entrepreneurs
I have to disagree; I don’t
think it is the risk or the
thrill that drives an entrepreneur. It is passion.
I think the same is true for
good surfers. I think they
are not risk warriors. They,
like good entrepreneurs,
are risk calculators. Surfers and entrepreneurs are
passionate, self-driven
and have a general zest
for life. It is that underlying
quality that drives them
to attain the unattainable.
What does it mean to be
a calculated risk taker? I
believe that if we studied
the world’s best surfers
and entrepreneurs we
would see that they plan,
strategize and implement. They do this from
being structured, focused
and disciplined. From this,
they attune to the force
of nature, and ride!
For instance, with surfers,
they know what equipment they need. They
know where the surf is,
they know what time
the tide is high and they
study the environment to
make sure that the conditions are right for that
perfect ride. Then they
go out and give it everything they have, meeting
the elements that come
their way with courage,
commitment and surrender.
The same rules apply to
owning and operating a
business. We pick an area
that we wish to work, we
get all the equipment
in place, we study the
environment and then
we begin to metaphorically paddle towards the
surf. At a certain point
our combined passion,
calculations, structure
focus and discipline and
other factors prepare us
for the r